Where to find morel mushrooms in Iowa

Morel mushroom, singular, would be more accurate, but I might be the only Iowa morel hunter to reveal the precise location of my find.

After writing about the morel season and whether or not you can grow them, I finally found my own. In my own backyard.

As a native Iowan, I grew up around people who hunt and eat morels, most notably my uncle, Craig Musel, who is as forthcoming as anyone about where he found them. Good luck asking.

I have no woods near my house in Cedar Rapids, but that didn’t stop me from trying the spore theory of sprinkling water from soaked mushrooms outside, with the hope that morels would grow someday. The last time I did that was probably a few years ago, but I was in my garden today and was surprised to see this thing of beauty.

Just one small morel; nowhere near where I’d dumped spores in the past. I’ve heard about false morels and briefly wondered, what if this isn’t the real deal? But an online search to places such as the Great Morel showed nothing that looked like the mushroom growing in my garden.

Will my backyard become a morel mecca in the future? I’ll keep trying the spore theory, just in case.